MMH    Topics 

Self-Driving Vehicles for Bulk Materials Handling

Vecna Robotics’ Pivotal™ technology safely transforms OEM material handling equipment into fully-autonomous self-driving vehicles, orchestrates tasks across resources for optimized workflow efficiency, and employs the power of AI to create a machine learning feedback loop for system-wide continuous improvement.


We understand that operations are at the heart of every business that deals with the delivery of physical goods. That’s why we created a game-changing materials handling solution using the industry’s most advanced autonomous mobile robots and artificial intelligence: Nimble enough to adapt to your needs, powerful enough to make your operations consistently exceed customer expectations.

Vecna Robotics’ Pivotal™ technology safely transforms OEM material handling equipment into fully-autonomous self-driving vehicles, orchestrates tasks across resources for optimized workflow efficiency, and employs the power of AI to create a machine learning feedback loop for system-wide continuous improvement.

By leveraging the best strengths of autonomous robots, intelligent AI systems, real-time data, and human creativity, Vecna Robotics’ solutions turn rigid operations into dynamic and flexible operations.

Self-driving Autonomous Mobile Robots

Vecna Robotics’ fleet includes fully-autonomous pallet trucks capable of horizontal pallet transport, including pickup and drop-off, as well as self-driving tuggers for point-to-point transport. Safety is our top priority in designing self-driving vehicles. Our AMRs are equipped with 360-degree sensor protection and our multi-level safety system has been 3rd-party certified to be ANSI/ITSDF B56.5 compliant. They are safe to collaborate directly alongside floor staff and manually-operated equipment, and in the event of a safety stop will automatically reset and proceed once it is safe again.

Vecna Robotics brings the latest in self-driving technology to automated material handling vehicles, including:

  • low infrastructure requirements for rapid installation
  • 3D sensor fusion for high-confidence navigation
  • flexible mapping that can be updated and modified as needed
  • dynamic path planning & obstacle avoidance to adapt to any situation
  • the ability to revert to manual operation

Pivotal™ Orchestration Engine

Pivotal is the world’s first continuously-improving multi-agent orchestration engine. Once integrated with your facility’s WMS / ERP system, Pivotal constantly monitors the real-time status of an operation across automated systems, manual processes, and IT / data sources to assign the right resource to the right job at the right time.

Your WMS defines WHAT needs to get done; Pivotal decides HOW best to accomplish it across all resources, ensuring every player on the team – including human workers and robots - is performing optimally in real time. Floor staff communicate with the system through intuitive user-interfaces, including on-robot touchscreens to remote tablets and wearables to a web-based fleet management dashboard.

In addition, the Pivotal Insights application provides access to a fleet management dashboard for live system monitoring. Use the app to check real-time status, gain a high-level view of the entire fleet, or drill down to see tasks of both individual robots. The web-based analytics dashboard allows your management team to analyze performance data and uncover operational insights.

Advanced Analytics for Continuous Learning

Our proprietary technology includes an industry-unique real-time data capture, analytics, and exception handling system.  This solution analyzes data collected by Vecna Robotics’ AMRs as they work and uses it to adapt to changing operational conditions over time, proactively identify and mitigate potential issues before they can impact operations, as well as escalate edge cases in order to maximize uptime.

Data captured by Vecna Robotics’ AMRs is pumped back into Pivotal to create a cycle of continuous learning. This learning cycle drives continuous improvement efforts and increased performance through data analytics, shared fleet experience, and ongoing software updates, ensuring each customer’s solution operates at ongoing peak efficiency.


Article Topics

   All topics

Vecna Robotics News & Resources

Materials Handling Robotics: The new world of heterogeneous robotic integration
High-capacity AMRs take on tough challenges
GEODIS accelerates case picking throughput with Vecna Robotics solution
Autonomous Lift Trucks: The human equation
The upstream, unseen impacts of e-Commerce and how to solve them
Storage Solutions partners with Vecna Robotics to integrate autonomous vehicles into warehouses
Top 5 Ways Self Driving Forklifts Provide a Competitive Edge
More Vecna Robotics

Latest in Materials Handling

Warehouse technology company Synergy Logistics promotes Brian Kirst to Chief Commercial Officer
Seegrid names Abe Ghabra as Chief Operating Officer
GRI appoints Ydo Doornbos as its director for North America
ISM May Semiannual Report signals growth in 2024, at a reduced rate
11th annual National Forklift Safety Day to be hybrid event, on June 11
PAC Machinery announces leadership transition
Motion Industries to acquire automation company
More Materials Handling

Subscribe to Materials Handling Magazine

Subscribe today!
Not a subscriber? Sign up today!
Subscribe today. It's FREE.
Find out what the world's most innovative companies are doing to improve productivity in their plants and distribution centers.
Start your FREE subscription today.

May 2024 Modern Materials Handling

A complete modernization of the sortation and conveyance at Boscov’s DC, along with updated software and a new order processing area, have transformed the ability of the department store chain’s DC to move more cartons in less time, while permitting more frequent replenishment shipment for stores.

Latest Resources

2023 Automation Study: Usage & Implementation of Warehouse/DC Automation Solutions
2023 Automation Study: Usage & Implementation of Warehouse/DC Automation Solutions
This research was conducted by Peerless Research Group on behalf of Modern Materials Handling to assess usage and purchase intentions forautomation systems...
How Your Storage Practices Can Affect Your Pest Control Program
How Your Storage Practices Can Affect Your Pest Control Program
Discover how your storage practices could be affecting your pest control program and how to prevent pest infestations in your business. Join...

Warehousing Outlook 2023
Warehousing Outlook 2023
2023 is here, and so are new warehousing trends.
Extend the Life of Brownfield Warehouses
Extend the Life of Brownfield Warehouses
Today’s robotic and data-driven automation systems can minimize disruptions and improve the life and productivity of warehouse operations.
Power Supply in Overhead Cranes: Energy Chains vs. Festoons
Power Supply in Overhead Cranes: Energy Chains vs. Festoons
Download this white paper to learn more about how both systems compare.